Spanish Company Buys Interest in Hipodromo

Codere, a prominent gaming and horse racing company based in Madrid, Spain, has purchased 35.8 percent of ICELA, the parent company of Hipodromo de Las Americas, Mexico’s premier racetrack in Mexico City, for $209 million (US).

The Spanish company also owns Panama’s Hipodromo Presidente Remon, which hosted the 2011 Clasico del Caribe, and owns 50 percent of Maronas National Racetrack in Montevideo, Uruguay. Codere also has a management contract with Jockey Club do Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Jockey Club Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre and Jockey Club de Parana in Parana.

The purchase of ICELA (Impulsora de Centros de Entretenimiento de las Américas), from Corporacion Interamericana de Entretetenemiento (CIE) a public company with headquarters in Mexico City, gives Codere 84.8 percent of The Entertainment Center de Las Americas.

The track operates 150 race days per year and also includes a theme park for children, gaming centers, sports wagering, international simulcasting and electronic games, as well as the main convention center in Mexico.

Ramon Rionda, Director of Racing Operations for Codere, called the purchase a major development for the multinational company.

CODERE is a Spanish multinational, a benchmark in the private gaming sector in Europe and Latin America and listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange. The Group manages more than 54,600 gaming machines, 191 gaming halls, 813 betting locations and participates in the management of three racetracks, in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay, and is also engaged in Internet gaming activities in Italy, where it holds the relevant licences.

Codere was the first gaming company to go public at the Madrid Stock Exchange.